


compassion in the jungle

by MiniNephthys



Category: End Roll (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Slash, Request Meme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 13:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8058499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniNephthys/pseuds/MiniNephthys
Summary: Dogma tries to get animals to like him.





	

Dogma likes animals. Of this, there can be no doubt.

He likes all animals typically kept as pets - dogs, cats, rabbits… He’s even fond of the occasional snake.

He likes animals kept on farms - horses, sheep, pigs… He recognizes that it’s inevitable for a cow to be killed for human consumption, but he still avoids thinking too hard about the origin of what he’s eating.

He likes animals that are too wild to be kept by anyone without specialized training (like Tabasa) - monkeys, foxes, birds of prey… He saw a giraffe in a documentary once and immediately fell in love with the creature.

He’s strongly afraid of squid and octopi, and other creatures that live in the deeper sea, but that shouldn’t negate that he’s fond of animals in general.

So why is it, exactly, that they’re not fond of him?

“It’s probably because you’re so grumpy,” Tabasa explains, after Dogma’s most recent attempt to pet a lamb ends in the animal skittering away.

“I - I can’t deny that, exactly,” Dogma replies, because even he knows he’s not the most friendly of people. “But I have no ill will towards your animals at all!”

“Doesn’t matter,” Tabasa says. “Animals can read body language, sometimes better than humans can. But they don’t know if you’re upset because you had to spend an extra hour cleaning the church today, or anything like that - they just know that you’re upset, and that makes them upset or afraid.”

“So… if I want to pet your animals, I need to become truly happy and relaxed,” Dogma says, slowly.

“Well, I guess that’d work better…” What Tabasa doesn’t say out loud, but Dogma can infer: is that even possible for you?

It only drives him to become more determined. “I will absolutely be able to pet one of your animals without frightening it. If it takes relaxation, then so be it!”

“...You’re kind of going the opposite direction of ‘relaxing’ right now…”

Relaxation is harder than expected. The first major attempt Dogma makes at becoming more at peace is meditation, but he finds his mind wandering too easily to what chores he has left to do, or that conversation he had with Cody that he wishes he’d spoken differently in. Every time he brings his mind back to focus, he gets more annoyed with himself for letting his thoughts wander, until he eventually quits the meditation altogether for having the opposite of the intended effect.

Kantera has a herbal remedy that should help with stress, but when Dogma purchases it, Kantera adds, “If that was all someone needed to become peaceful, I would have prescribed it to you ages ago. Still, it should help with the worst of your moods.”

Dogma doesn’t feel much different, and stops taking it after a few weeks. Time to move on to more creative measures.

“How do you stay so carefree, Tabasa?” he asks, watching him feed the monkeys. He already tried petting them earlier - no go. “You do as much work as anyone else in the village, but I’ve rarely seen you seriously troubled.”

“Me? I just try and keep everything in perspective, I guess,” Tabasa replies with a shrug. “Things like finding Gardenia’s lost stuff are annoying, but in a week I won’t be thinking about them, so why get worked up over it?”

“An admirable outlook,” Dogma says. “It seems I could learn much more from you than simply how to interact with animals.”

Tabasa turns a little bit red. It might be just a trick of the light. “Uh - really? Thanks, but I’m nothing special.”

Dogma tsks. “Don’t be so modest. I enjoy speaking to you about other topics besides animals, I’ve found. Even if this endeavour fails, I’ll have to make an effort to visit you more often.”

...No, it’s definitely not the lighting. Perhaps he’s overworking himself?

(Dogma never does turn into a relaxed person that animals will love. Some things are simply impossible to change.

But he’s gained something from this experience, nonetheless.)


End file.
